ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Kurdish opposition group in northeast Syria (Rojava) staged protests on Friday demonstrating against rising prices of basic goods and the detention of some of their members. Several people were injured when a fight broke out with rival protesters, according to an official. The Kurdish National Council (ENKS) protests took place in nine towns, with the main one in front of the United Nations office in Qamishli. “We faced obstacles in many places, including restrictions by the security forces in some areas,” Sulaiman Oso, an ENKS official, told Rudaw English after the protests had ended. Footage filmed by Rudaw in Qamishli showed a group of people carrying the flag of a group connected to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the image of its leader Abdullah Ocalan pushing through the protests and attacking ENKS protesters with sticks. Security forces intervened, but could not prevent the injury of a number of demonstrators. Oso said it is not immediately clear how many people were injured. ENKS was able to hand over a letter of demands to the UN office, he added. The protests are against a recent increase in fuel and bread prices as well as the detention of several ENKS members in Rojava. ENKS, which does not recognize the autonomous administration of Rojava, has thorny relations with the ruling Democratic Union Party (PYD). Despite years of talks, the two sides have failed to reach an agreement resolving their issues and sharing power. The PYD dislikes ENKS’ friendly ties with Turkey. Some people disrupting the protest on Friday could be heard calling the ENKS supporters “betrayers.” Syria as a whole is suffering from an economic crisis, worsened by US sanctions. Rojava is excluded from the sanctions, but their impact on the region can be clearly noticed. ENKS planned to hold the protests on Sunday but brought the date forward after the administration announced it will impose a week-long full lockdown in eastern Rojava after a spike in new cases. The lockdown begins on Saturday.
